Charlton County, Georgia

Charlton County Education, Geography, and History

Charlton County is the southernmost county of the state of Georgia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 12,171. Charlton County was created on February 18, 1854 from Camden County. The county seat is Folkston. The county is named in honor of Robert Milledge Charlton, a jurist, a US Senator (1852 - 1854), and the mayor of Savannah.

Etymology - Origin of Charlton County Name

 The county is named for Robert M. Charlton of Savannah, a US Senator and one of Georgia's foremost jurists.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Charlton County History

Charlton County was created in 1854 from a portion of Camden County. Georgia's 110th county was named for Robert M. Charlton of Savannah, a US Senator and one of Georgia's foremost jurists.

Points of Interest

Charlton County contains a large part of the Stephen C. Foster State Park and the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area, which attract 350,000 visitors annually. The Okefenokee (Seminole for "Land of Quaking Earth") Swamp is roughly 20 by 40 miles in size and takes up one-third of the county's land. The impenetrable wilderness served as a sanctuary for the Seminoles and escaped slaves.

Folkston was for years the self-proclaimed "Marriage Capital of the World." Floridians who could not endure their state's waiting period before tying the knot would cross the state line to wed there.

Charlton-with over 98% of its area in woodlands-is the most timbered county in Georgia.

90 mile band between Clay County, Florida and Charlton County contains the richest titanium reserves in the nation. More than 12,000 acres adjacent to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge was purchased by DuPont to mine this titanium. After considerable resident protests that the refuge might be harmed by the mining, Dupont's mining plan was defeated.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 782 square miles (2,030 km²), of which 774 square miles (2,000 km²) is land and 8.8 square miles (23 km²) (1.1%) is water.

 The county is the southernmost county in Georgia.  Charlton county is the fifth-largest county by area in Georgia.  A large portion of the county lies within the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected areas. Charlton county is in the Suwannee River basin, the Satilla River basin and the St. Marys basin.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Brantley County; Camden County
• Southeast: Nassau County, Fla.
• Southwest: Baker County, Fla.
• Northwest: Ware County

Education

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